Midnight's Children — 4 months ago
I had a mixed reaction to Rushdie’s first novel (and the first of his I’ve read). I know little of the history of India/Pakistan/Kashmir/Bangladesh, so the story of the ancient region’s new infancy and adolesence was captivating.
The “magical” elements are interesting to me as well, because I’m not sure how to react to their presence. Might Saleem’s powers, his prophecies, his conspiracies all be delusions of grandeur and guilt? Even if that were so, it seems that his environment fostered his fatalism – surrounded on all sides and through all time by a generous plurality of fanaticism, folklore, domestic sorcery, petty intrigue, gossip, superstition, etc.
I never did quite adjust to the narration, the story-teller interrogating himself in a long-winded and frequently repetitive verbal marathon. While I suppose it is impressive to fuse Dickens with 1,001 Nights, this everything-but the kitchen sink style of writing can inspire fatigue. With its myriad digressions and circumlocutions, this is far from a tidy tale. Then again, India is not a tidy country, but one of teeming multiplicity, crowded with stories.
